MINE safety fears have sparked the cordoning off of a Gunnislake front garden, after the shock discovery of a deep shaft just feet from the owners? front door. Larry Lockett and his wife June were away from their home at Sandhills Park for the weekend when the shaft was discovered. The first Mr Lockett knew about the hole was when he received a call from Caradon District Council ? the council had been digging boreholes in the area, as part of an investigation to check if contaminated earth had been removed from the site. Mrs Lockett, who has lived at Sandhills Park for two years, said she was told the hole was very deep, and she should not park on the driveway. Mrs Lockett said: ?The geology expert came in on Wednesday and it was then they said it was a shaft. They dropped a rock down it and they never heard it reach the bottom ? it?s a vertical drop.? Pensioner Mr Lockett said they were ?dumbfounded? when they heard the news. He said: ?I?m worried what?s going to happen, whether they are going to find it?s going to come through into the bungalow or towards my garage or even into the road. ?They came and put this barrier up and now I?ve just got to wait. We don?t know a thing, we have been left in the dark really. They say it?s my responsibility and I?ll have to pay for it.? The properties at Sandhills Park were built three years ago. Mr Lockett said his neighbours were now concerned to find out if their houses were likely to be affected. ?They?re very angry ? and very worried obviously, because they don?t know where this shaft goes,? he said. Gerry Masters, head of operations and technical services at Caradon, said the council had ?a duty of care? towards its residents which was why the area had been fenced off. He said: ?We are trying to find out a bit more about the shaft but unfortunately the onus is likely to fall on the owner of the property to have it capped. ?We have been advising him of likely areas he could investigate to search for funding.? He said as far as he was aware, the shaft did not appear on any maps of the area, which was likely to indicate it dated from pre-1872, when it became law to record all mine workings. If it was an older shaft, it was not likely to be as deep as newer mine workings. He added: ?From the information I have it would seem to be a fairly straightforward capping. At the present moment we anticipate it?s likely to be a single shaft.? Sandhills Park was built by DEM Projects for developers Rusillion Properties. Chris Speed of Rusillon said he was ?completely unaware? of any mine workings in the area. ?Mine surveys were carried out prior to us buying the land, the properties were constructed under the supervision of Caradon?s planning department. ?We will be in touch with Caradon and we will go back to our engineers and architects,? said Mr Speed.